President Bush's final farewell...Ramblings

[Ksail101]

I was driving to pick up my parents from the store that they had just walked to, and listened to President Bush's last speech. He told a story of a man who lost his son in Iraq, and at the age of sixty wanted to join the Navy Medical Corps in memory of his son. Being 18 years over the cut off age to join he applied for the proper wavers and was accepted, and thus will be leaving for Iraq here soon to help soldiers on the field of battle.

Say what you want about President Bush, and you wont hear too many praises from me, but in some ways he has brought the most out of Americans and shown many that America is alive and well. Economic down turn does not show the true meaning of what America is today.

When I was 18, 8 years ago, President Bush was elected into office. In my life no one president has meant so much to me. Good or bad. For some he was just another president, and for others like me he was something more. I was a boy who turned into a man through his years of leadership and my life what printed on the pages he wrote. Weather I truly agreed with his stance on many topics, I followed orders like many others and progressed in manhood along the way. I learned the true value of life and love under his leadership and was forced to deal with pain. There are many things that I could add here that shows what I have learned since he has been in office, but really in the end it comes down to being an American and having true pride in that. Something that was not there before.

President Bush has been a very important part of my life,  more so than any other president, and I believe that many of us for good or bad can say this as well. I rallied around him after 9/11 and spit on him at the loss of my brothers. So tonight hearing him say good bye and Godbless that final time I got choked up. That may be the last time I get to hear my president say Godbless. And it saddens me. For the love I have gained for this country I just hope I am not pushed away in the end. I hope I dont feel that my country, that has been one nation under god, be split into a few countries under a government. I dont want to be like the British/Europe that is why we fought a war and had a Declaration of Independence penned in the 1776. I guess I may not have been happy with what I had, but at least I knew America was alive and would thrive no matter what. Now I am not so sure.

Well President Bush it has been a wild ride I guess in the end you have been a father to me and made me a man (as I have said before) so I say to you Godbless and Goodbye.

Update: Just for own enjoyment, tonight at the end of the Speech President Bush said Godbless and Goodnight, as opposed to my goodbye.

[Pathfinder]

Ksail, I have sent you a few PMs, but this is going public. That was such an excellent piece on President Bush - Heartfelt, honest and upright like the young man you are. For the man you have become under his leadership - good or bad - you are a sterling example of why he was ultimately good for this country. He has succeeded where his predecessor failed miserably, Thank God you did not have to serve under Clinton.

And once again, God Bless you for your service, you have done well, and we are proud of your achievements. They are but the first of many to come, I am sure. Please keep us posted.

Path

[PegLeg45]

Well said Ksail.
You seem to have a perspective beyond your years, and well above most of what I see from people your age lately.

I watched the President's speech to the press corps the other day, and his address tonight, and couldn't help but think that if he had spoken the same way on the same level and with the same tone in his speeches over the last few years, he would not have been as maligned in the public eye as he was (but didn't deserve). I may not have agreed with every decision he made either, but I felt he had the best interest of the nation at heart, and I was glad that it was HIM and not ME that had that weight on his shoulders.

I'm afraid that in the future, people will find out that Bush wasn't as bad a president as they thought he was, and Obama may not be the savior they think he is.

Only time will tell the tale.

[1776 Rebel]

Ksail you said it all. Not a perfect man or leader by any means, but an honest man. A man that wanted only to do good. To keep his charges safe. His wife was also the best first lady I can remember and I am a bit older than you. I believe she added quite a bit by being by his side. I'm sure that there was a lot of pillow talk that helped bolster his spirit in this nations darkest moments. For that I am thankful she was there.

I simply can not imagine the weight of that office. You always see how these guys age in just a few years. The average man may save a life or even take a life while he spends his time on earth. Maybe more maybe less. But what about when they turn to you and say send hundreds of thousands of men into harms way. How do you handle the death of THOUSANDS of soliders? Tens of thousands wounded? How do you feel when they turn to you and say "you have to go save New Orleans. There are half a million in peril." When you have to talk down a nation from nuking its neighbor like India and Pakistan. The good lord above watches over this nation I believe. But I hope there is a special blessing somewhere for the men that occupy that office.

[CurrieS103]

Good words Ksail,
Bush is a good man who had to deal with terrible things and make very hard decisions.  I think history will validate what he did .  I am proud to have his signature on my retirement certificate and will remember him with fondness and a great deal of respect.

[Sponsor]

[m25operator]

Ksail, I don't know if he would receive it, but I think you should send it too him, letter or email.

Well said, and thank you as always.

[Big Frank]

Powerful words Ksail. Reading that almost made me weep. My first CinC was Jimmy Carter, during the Iran Hostage Crisis. I never thought of Bush as being a great man, but he did alright. Certainly better than his predecessor. And I would have rather served under Dubya or his father than Carter or Clinton.

[wisconsin]

ksail. Your parents must be darn proud of you. I know I would be if you were my son.

[cookie62]

Well said

[fullautovalmet76]

Well stated, KSail! I appreciate your service to our country and I know your family is proud of you too.

The way you feel about President Bush, is similar to how I feel about Ronald Reagan. I grew up in the '80s and am part of that generation you don't hear that much about- X. I tell those who know me that the Gipper is my political idol. His values and what he stood for helped me find my own way in this world. Like Bush, Reagan was not perfect and did make mistakes. It was Reagan's unshakable belief in liberty and freedom that made the most impression on me.

I hope that you as you evolve as a man that you will keep the things you like most about President Bush in mind as you judge the effect of his policies in the next 20 years.